This is an activity about spacecraft design. Teams of learners will model how scientists and engineers design and build spacecraft to collect, store, and transmit data to earth. Teams will design a system to store and transmit topographic data of...(View More) the Moon and then analyze that data and compare it to data collected by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter .(View Less)

This is an activity about spacecraft radio communications. Learners will explore spacecraft radio communications concepts, including the speed of light and the time-delay for signals sent to and from spacecraft. Learners measure the time it takes...(View More) for a radio signal to travel to a spacecraft using the speed of light, demonstrate the delay in radio communication signals to and from a spacecraft, and devise unique solutions to the radio-signal-delay problem. In an extension, learners are asked to calculate the distance the spacecraft traveled. All NASA spacecraft missions have a telecommunications system and use radio waves to transmit signals. The context for this activity is sending a command to the New Horizons spacecraft telling it to take a picture of Pluto. Includes teacher background, adaptations, and student data sheets.(View Less)

This problem-based learning module asks students to consider how future climate change could impact the frequency and intensity of hurricanes. They are tasked with studying the trends and impacts of hurricanes on coastal regions. They proceed by...(View More) conducting an Earth system analysis, examining connections and causal chains of impact that are set in motion by the hurricane throughout the Earth's atmosphere, biosphere, lithosphere, and hydrosphere. Teacher notes, rubric, and background resources are included. The student pages are available as a separate page that can be printed or displayed on a computer.(View Less)

This is an activity about mission planning. Learners will use the roles of a navigation team, spacecraft, comet, Earth, and Sun to simulate how mission planners design a spacecraft/comet rendezvous. This activity requires at least four active...(View More) participants and a large open space. Includes mathematics extensions.(View Less)

This is a lesson about spacecraft communication. Learners will explore the concepts of "signal" and "noise" by listening to a computer-generated signal from two different distances with no additional background noise, and then with background noise,...(View More) and compare their experiences in a science journal page.(View Less)

This is a unit of 8 sessions about the Sun-Earth system. Learners will construct a model to show the relative size and scale of the Sun-Earth system, investigate the visible and electromagnetic spectrums, discuss solar flares and solar weather,...(View More) develop a UV shield, and discuss the results of their investigations. The unit is set in the context of solving a mystery and supports the idea that scientific explanations are based on evidence. This is Unit 1 of the GEMS Space Science Sequence for Grades 6-8, which is available for purchase (see related link).(View Less)

This is a unit in 7-8 sessions about objects outside of our solar system, including galaxies and the universe. Learners will investigate the contents of the universe, why light years are used to measure distances in space, the lifespan of a star,...(View More) and detecting extrasolar planets. Finally, they will examine evidence for habitable worlds beyond earth. This is Unit 4 of the GEMS Space Science Sequence for Grades 6-8, which is available for purchase (see related link).(View Less)

This is a lesson about the characteristics of planets, comets, asteroids, and trans-Neptunian objects. Learners will classify objects and then apply what they have learned by participating in a formal debate about a solar system object discovered by...(View More) the New Horizons spacecraft and by defining the term planet.(View Less)

This is a lesson about solar system exploration. Learners will understand that combining information gathered by a variety of robots gives us a more comprehensive understanding of our solar system. Learners will explore a planet made up of a...(View More) combination of materials while simulating the perspective of different missions: pre-launch reconnaissance, fly-by, orbit, and landing. Learners will record and share their observations. Requires the book "Seven Blind Mice" by Ed Young. This is lesson 8 of 16 in the MarsBots learning module. This lesson is adapted from "Strange New Planet," an activity in the "Mars Activity Book."(View Less)

Learners will explore the concept of parallax (the apparent displacement of an object caused by a change in the viewer’s position) and then simulate the discovery of Pluto with a Blink Comparator via an online interactive.